Five Questions That Should Be Asked At Tonight's Debate

Last week, Al Meyerhoff offered a series of thoughtful questions [1] for tonight's debate between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, 8 PM ET on ABC. In the desperate hope it won't be 90 minutes of blather about supposed gaffes that voters appear completely uninterested in, here's five more of my own. You can contact ABC at this link [2], and forward our questions on, or suggest some of your own.

1. The Senate is considering a global warming bill [3] that aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions about 60% and largely allows private companies in the short-term to keep polluting the public's sky without paying much cost.

Those advocating for strong action on global warming say while the bill is a step forward, we need to cut emissions 80% to avert a climate crisis, and private companies should fully pay for polluting public sky, both to create a disincentive for polluting and to raise revenue for renewable energy and lower consumer costs.

Will you vote for the bill as it stands? Will you seek to strengthen the bill? Would you strengthen the program once you became president?

2. Both of your health care plans [4] include a new public insurance plan accessible to all Americans that would compete with private insurance plans. Is this a non-negotiable component of your health care plan?

3. There is much talk of bipartisanship, but the latest bipartisan Senate housing bill has been criticized for doing to little for struggling homeowners while offering a $6 billion tax break for home builders. [5] Can you work across the aisle to really alleviate the housing crisis and not just pass paper-thin bills that only satisfy special interests?

4. School budgets are being squeezed across the country [6]. Will you push for a new stimulus package this year that includes aid for state and local governments struggling with higher costs?

5. You have both expressed opposition to torture. ABC found that Condi Rice was among the senior Bush administration officials that directly authorized torture as an interrogation method. A new petition from Brave New Films calls for her resignation. [7] Do you agree?